Running machine with a pulling rope

ABSTRACT

A running machine with a pulling rope has a treadmill and a rope assembly. The rope assembly is mounted on the treadmill and has a housing and at least one rope set mounted in the housing. Each of the at least one rope set has a pulling rope. An end of the pulling rope is secured in the housing. Another end of the pulling rope protrudes out of the housing and is connected to a grip. The pulling rope is resiliently retracted toward the housing. When a user is exercising on the running machine, one of two hands of the user holds the at least one grip and swings naturally to pull the pulling rope. Resilient restoring force of the pulling ropes provides resistance to the user pulling the pulling ropes. Accordingly, an upper body and a lower body of the user can be trained simultaneously.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a running machine, especially to a running machine with a pulling rope.

2. Description of the Prior Art(s)

Since people nowadays are busy and do not have enough time to exercise outdoors, various exercise machines are developed to allow people to exercise indoors and to maintain their health. A running machine is one of the commonest indoor exercise machines. A conventional running machine has a moving platform and a controller. The controller is mounted above and is electrically connected to the moving platform. A user walks or runs on the moving platform to work out and to do physical training.

However, during walking or running on the moving platform, two legs of the user step forward in turn and two arms of the user swing naturally. Therefore, exercising on the conventional running machine mainly trains a lower body of the user, especially the legs of the user. Training an upper body of the user with the conventional running machine is ineffective. Consequently, the user has to do additional exercises to train his upper body.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a running machine with a pulling rope to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a running machine with a pulling rope. The running machine has a treadmill and a rope assembly. The treadmill has a moving platform and an upright support. The upright support is mounted on and protrudes up from the moving platform. The rope assembly is mounted on the upright support and has a housing and at least one rope set. The housing is securely mounted on the upright support. The at least one rope set is mounted in the housing. Each of the at least one rope set has a pulling rope and a grip. The pulling rope is mounted through the housing and is resiliently retracted toward the housing. The pulling rope has a connecting end secured in the housing and a pulling end protruding out of the housing and connected to the grip.

When a user is walking or running on the running machine, at least one of two hands of the user holds the at least one grip and swings naturally to pull the pulling rope. Resilient restoring force of the pulling ropes provides resistance to the user pulling the pulling ropes. Accordingly, an upper body and a lower body of the user can be trained simultaneously.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a running machine with a pulling rope in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the running machine in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an operational side view of the running machine in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a rope assembly of a second embodiment of a running machine with a pulling rope in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the rope assembly of the running machine in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, a running machine with a pulling rope in accordance with the present invention comprises a treadmill 10 and a rope assembly 20, 20A.

With further reference to FIG. 2, the treadmill 10 has a moving platform 11 and an upright support 12. The moving platform 11 has a front end and a rear end. The upright support 12 is mounted on the front end of the moving platform 11 and protrudes up from the moving platform 11. The upright support 12 has an upper end.

The rope assembly 20, 20A is mounted on the upper end of the upright support 12 and has a housing 21, 21A and at least one rope set 22, 22A.

The housing 21, 21A is hollow and is securely mounted on the upper end of the upright support 12. The housing 21, 21A has a rear sidewall and at least one mounting recess 211, 211A. The rear sidewall of the housing 21, 21A faces the rear end of the moving platform 11. The at least one mounting recess 211, 211A is formed in the rear sidewall of the housing 21, 21A. Preferably, a controller is mounted in the housing 21, 21A and is electrically connected to the moving platform 11. Thus, when the user walks or runs on the moving platform 11, the controller controls and monitors moving speeds of the user.

The at least one rope set 22, 22A is mounted in the housing 21, 21A. Each of the at least one rope set 22, 22A has a pulling rope 221, 221A and a grip 222, 222A. The pulling rope 221, 221A is mounted through the housing 21, 21A. is mounted through a corresponding one of the at least one mounting recess 211, 211A of the housing 21, 21A, and is resiliently retracted toward the housing 21, 21A. The pulling rope 221, 221A has a connecting end and a pulling end. The connecting end of the pulling rope 221, 221A is mounted and secured in the housing 21, 21A. The pulling end of the pulling rope 221, 221A protrudes out of the housing 21, 21A. The grip 222, 222A is connected to the pulling end of the pulling rope 221, 221A and is detachably mounted in a corresponding one of the at least one mounting recess 211, 221A of the housing 21, 21A. Thus, the grip 222, 222A can be stored on the housing 21, 21A.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the first preferred embodiment, the housing 21 of the rope assembly 20 has two mounting recesses 211. The mounting recesses 211 are separately formed in the rear sidewall of the housing 21. The rope assembly 20 has two rope sets 22. The two pulling ropes 221 of the rope sets 22 are respectively mounted through the mounting recesses 211 of the housing 21. Each pulling rope 221 is resilient. The two grips 222 of the rope sets 22 are respectively mounted detachably in the mounting recesses 211 of the housing 21.

With further reference to FIG. 3, when a user 30 is walking or running on the first preferred embodiment of the running machine, two hands of the user 30 respectively hold the grips 222 and swing naturally to pull the pulling ropes 221 in turn. Resilient restoring force of the pulling ropes 221 forms a resistant force to the user 30 pulling the pulling ropes 221. Moreover, by using the pulling ropes 221 with different coefficients of elasticity, different resistant forces can be formed. Accordingly, an upper body and a lower body of the user 30 can be trained simultaneously.

With further reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, in a second preferred embodiment, each of the at least one rope set 22A further has a pivot shaft 223A, a rope reel 224A, and a restoring element 226A. The pivot shaft 223A is rotatably mounted in the housing 21A. The rope reel 224A is securely mounted around the pivot shaft 223A and is coaxial with the pivot shaft 223A. The rope reel 224A has a peripheral surface and a reel recess 225A. The reel recess 225A is formed in the peripheral surface of the rope reel 224A. The restoring element 226A is resilient and has two ends respectively connected to the rope reel 224A and the housing 21A. As the pivot shaft 223A as well as the rope reel 224A pivots toward one direction, resilient restoring force of the restoring element 226A pulls the rope reel 224A to pivot toward the reverse direction. The pulling rope 221A of each of the at least one rope set 22A is mounted around the rope reel 224A in the reel recess 225A. The connecting end of the pulling rope 221A of each of the at least one rope set 22A is securely connected to the rope reel 224A.

Preferably, the pivot shaft 223A is connected to the housing 21A via a bearing, and the restoring element 226A is a volute spring.

When the user 30 is walking or running on the second preferred embodiment of the running machine, the two hands of the user 30 respectively hold the grips 222A and swing naturally to pull the pulling ropes 221A in turn. As the hand of the user 30 swings away from the rope assembly 20A, the pulling rope 221A is pulled, and the rope reel 224A and the pivot shaft 223A are rotated toward one direction. As the hand of the user 30 swings toward the rope assembly 20A, the restoring element 226A drives the rope reel 224A and the pivot shaft 223A to rotate toward the reverse direction, such that the pulling rope 221A is mounted around the rope reel 224A.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A running machine comprising: a treadmill having a moving platform having a front end; and an upright support mounted on the front end of the moving platform and protruding up from the moving platform, and the upright support having an upper end; and a rope assembly mounted on the upper end of the upright support and having a housing securely mounted on the upper end of the upright support; and at least one rope set mounted in the housing, each of the at least one rope set having a pulling rope mounted through the housing, resiliently retracted toward the housing, and having a connecting end mounted and secured in the housing; and a pulling end protruding out of the housing; and a grip connected to the pulling end of the pulling rope.
 2. The running machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing of the rope assembly has a rear sidewall; and at least one mounting recess formed in the rear sidewall of the housing; the pulling rope of each of the at least one rope set is mounted through a corresponding one of the at least one mounting recess of the housing; and the grip of each of the at least one rope set is detachably mounted in a corresponding one of the at least one mounting recess of the housing.
 3. The running machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the housing of the rope assembly has two mounting recesses separately formed in the rear sidewall of the housing; the rope assembly has two rope sets; the two pulling ropes of the rope sets are respectively mounted through the mounting recesses of the housing; and the two grips of the rope sets are respectively mounted detachably in the mounting recesses of the housing.
 4. The running machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pulling rope of each of the at least one rope set is resilient.
 5. The running machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pulling rope of each of the at least one rope set is resilient.
 6. The running machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the pulling rope of each rope set is resilient.
 7. The running machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the at least one rope set further has a pivot shaft rotatably mounted in the housing; a rope reel securely mounted around the pivot shaft and being coaxial with the pivot shaft, and the rope reel having a peripheral surface; and a reel recess formed in the peripheral surface of the rope reel; and a restoring element being resilient and having two ends respectively connected to the rope reel and the housing; the pulling rope of each of the at least one rope set is mounted around the rope reel in the reel recess; and the connecting end of the pulling rope of each of the at least one rope set is securely connected to the rope reel.
 8. The running machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the at least one rope set further has a pivot shaft rotatably mounted in the housing; a rope reel securely mounted around the pivot shaft and being coaxial with the pivot shaft, and the rope reel having a peripheral surface; and a reel recess formed in the peripheral surface of the rope reel; and a restoring element being resilient and having two ends respectively connected to the rope reel and the housing; the pulling rope of each of the at least one rope set is mounted around the rope reel in the reel recess; and the connecting end of the pulling rope of each of the at least one rope set is securely connected to the rope reel.
 9. The running machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein each rope set further has a pivot shaft rotatably mounted in the housing; a rope reel securely mounted around the pivot shaft and being coaxial with the pivot shaft, and the rope reel having a peripheral surface; and a reel recess formed in the peripheral surface of the rope reel; and a restoring element being resilient and having two ends respectively connected to the rope reel and the housing; the pulling rope of each rope set is mounted around the rope reel in the reel recess; and the connecting end of the pulling rope of each rope set is securely connected to the rope reel.
 10. The running machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein the restoring element of each of the at least one rope set is a volute spring.
 11. The running machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the restoring element of each of the at least one rope set is a volute spring.
 12. The running machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the restoring element of each rope set is a volute spring. 